At the confluence of the Howse and North Saskatchewan Rivers lies a place layered with stories—Saskatchewan River Crossing, a pivotal waypoint in the shaping of Western Canada. Archaeological research (on display at the Nordegg Discovery Centre & Museum) reveals that for millennia, Indigenous nations including the Ktunaxa, Piegan, Nakoda and Blackfeet moved through this corridor, using the route over Howse Pass to link the Columbia and Saskatchewan river systems, one flowing west to the Pacific, the other east to Hudson Bay.

In the early 1800s, fur traders from Rocky Mountain House, guided by Piegan leaders, followed these trails west. In 1807, David Thompson charted the route through Howse Pass, a crossing later named after Hudson’s Bay Company trader Joseph Howse. Designated a National Historic Site in 1978, the pass remains a testament to the endurance and knowledge of the region’s early navigators. By 1811, Hudson’s Bay Company brigades and North West Company voyageurs wove this ford and Howse Pass into an east–west fur trade artery, linking the Saskatchewan River “water highway” to emerging trading posts in the Columbia River watershed.

By the mid-20th century, Saskatchewan Crossing evolved from a backcountry waypoint into a vital junction. The 1940 opening of the original Banff–Jasper Highway, and the completion of the Icefields Parkway and David Thompson Highway in the 1960s, positioned the Saskatchewan Crossing as a modern stop for travellers exploring the Rockies. Today, it stands as the western gateway to the David Thompson Corridor—where visitors can savour mountain vistas that inspired generations of explorers, experience river-forged legends, and the authentic spirit of adventure that defines this remarkable crossroads of past and present.